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Event
HARD BASTARD
(aka RAGING RIVALS)
Dir. Godfrey Ho, 1982
Hong Kong/South Korea. 95 mins.
With trembling and battered hands (of lightning), this mile-a-minute unauthorized kung fu remake of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY carves THE HARD onto that films lodestar in blood and a hell of a lot more. Directed by cut-and-paste auteur Godfrey Ho (UNDEFEATABLE, CAT-MAN ON LETHAL TRACK, RAGE OF NINJA), HARD BASTARD tracks two traveling musicians in the darkest period of Shanghai, muxing inimitable 70s fashions (white-toned shoes, insanely popped collars) with a backdrop of feudal poverty - perhaps anticipating KUNG FU HUSTLE? They pick up a beautiful girl as a shipment of gold pulls into the pier; the map plotting its coordinates is cut into three pieces, and a chase ensues. Meanwhile, a well-to-do college student (played against type by legendary kickboxer Hwang Jang Lee, of SNAKE IN THE EAGLES SHADOW) returns to his hometown only to discover his fathers dojo has become a canasta joint for the mobsters running the city. HARD BASTARD culminates in a beachside battle royale which, like the climactic moments of so many other cheap-ass genre grenades of the 70s & 80s, accidentally tip-topples itself into the realm of the avant-garde.
Contemporary martial arts remake of "the good, the bad and the ugly", although with a wooden, unlikeably incompotent hero, and little morality of any kind Hwang Jang Lee portrays an immoral card-sharp with a strong sense of self preservation, and kicks his way through a few dullish fight sequences. Unremarkable, but reasonably high energy film with more emphasis on betrayals and double crosses than on conventional kung-fu action. - Clockwork Avocado, IMDB
Although the production values were appalling and the dubbing gave the impression that this was a carry on film a few beers or whatever your poison may be and you will laugh so much you will nearly crap yourself. Where are you going? To kick sh#t out of them - george crowther, IMDB
August 2012 was a simpler time: America was watching both the Harlem shake and Mitt Romneys 47% video (a worthy successor to Glenn Danzigs library tour, or Henry Rollins Dutch TV interview) with equally rapt attention. Here at Spectacle, we programmed a head-banging action series called SUMMER OF SHRAPNEL that scorched a proverbial hole in the screen and burned through all our Julio Medem money after a lower-octane-than-expected turnout. In that battered spirit we are pleased to blow the dust off of four chopsocky non-classics, equalling out to TWO LOAVES OF KUNG FU: because theres no better time than an air-conditioned summer night to watch guys get kicked upside the spine, ideally while sipping a frosty (non-alcoholic!!!) beverage.
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LocationSPECTACLE THEATER (View)
124 South 3rd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11249
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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